polinerdemory wrote:So I'm pretty sure I know what everyone's answer will be, but which one should I attend? My goal is to do biglaw in NY, DC, or Boston. If Vanderbilt, how much better is it? Thanks in advance.

I think you need to visit both law schools. Vanderbilt was one of my top choices until I visitied and HATED it. The law school was small and I didn't like the general atmosphere among the students. But you may love it, I dont know.

BU and Vandy are pretty close in rankings and if you want to work in Boston anyway you should probably just go to BU depending on what your scholarship offers are.

Between Vand/BU - Vand places better overall no question, but for Boston, BU is a safer bet. For DC, Vand would have the edge, unsure about NYC.

Overall, Vand for everywhere but Boston probably.

This may be about right. Vandy definitely has better overall placement. I really don't know about the Boston market--you should ask career services at Vandy about it if you are particularly concerned about the Boston market, though. But I agree with the previous poster--visit, if you can, and then obviously look at your price tags and make what is a very personal decision.

2011Law wrote:Assuming you can save a significant amount (~50k) by going to BU over Vandy, I'd do BU. But if not, I'd definitely do Vandy.

This would be very hard considering the CoL differences/

I don't think it would be that hard, tuition is 4k less per year at BU, so a 17k per year scholly would just about do it, assuming the CoL estimates for BU (17.5k) and Vandy (22.3k) should be switched . Estimates are from this site.

Based on the information contained in your prior posts, BU might be the better choice. But I agree with the above poster who suggested visiting both law schools before deciding since these two law schools tend to make definite impressions on applicants.

CanadianWolf wrote:@rad law: Do you think that the atmosphere and culture at Vanderbilt Law School can be fairly described as slightly more conservative than most Northeastern US law schools ?

Haven't been to a Northeastern law school, but it's definitely more Conservative than my Yankee-ass undergrad.

From my (admittedly fleeting) impression of Vandy, the school has a somewhat more conservative (but by no means politically oppressive) culture. What really seemed to set Vandy apart from most northern schools was the distinctly "Southern preppy" vibe.

As caseclosed said, make sure you visit. The Vandy environment seems to polarize people. That being said, I would pick it over BU for DC and NYC. For Boston, BU may be the better choice.

If your goal is biglaw in any one of those markets, Vandy for sure. It places significantly better overall than the 18-30s. BU only comes into play if you have a strong preference for Boston. Even then, I would only go to BU if you got some $$ (offset CoL difference).